No 2020 Season

[Roundball]

If USC and Clemson and Georgia play it will seem sort of silly to me for us not to play.

At this point, playing is not about risks associated with the virus. It’s about the budget. That’s why many FCS conferences and the MAC have decided to cancel or wait. They know playing this fall is a losing proposition. As for the SoCon, it’s going to be difficult for the conference to cancel because of the money games on the schedule against ACC teams. I am expecting the SoCon to play this fall, giving individual teams the right to drop out due to no money games. That scenario is not good for Furman football. Best case looks like spring football.

[FurmAlum]

Charleston Southern practice yesterday cancelled because of players' concerns about virus. See below article from this AM's "Charleston Post and Courier".

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/c ... afffc.html

Now it’s not about positive tests but concern from players. The media has done a tremendous job of scaring the s••• out of people, Every case is a death sentence if you listen to the media. Why are people driving around alone in their car with a mask on? The fear is out of control. If they tested thousands of people a day for every known disease and the media reported everything no one would leave their house. The world had never been a safe place but now everyone had to have no risk for anything to happen. If I were a healthy college athlete I would not give this virus one thought. Just another example of fear mongering by the media and the power it has. I knew this was going to be bad when all this started but it has reached levels beyond expectations.

Enough with blaming this on the media. They simply report the facts. It's a real virus with real consequences. Besides, we need to fear this virus. It's people like you that don't take the virus serious that keep it going. This virus has killed over 160,000 people, with thousands more to die. If Americans continue to listen to the conspiracy theories, we are still be talking about this in August of next year. I hope the media spreads fear. Somebody needs to. Let's both understand that what we think about the spreading of the virus, masks, social distancing, etc., means nothing. Bottom line, this fall football season is in peril, as is basketball. The virus is with us and is not going away anytime soon. I pray for the leaders that are having to make difficult decisions.

RB, I respect your opinion on most things and I agree this virus is serious, but if you think the media simply reports the facts then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell you. This whole thing has been blown so far out of proportion it is almost funny. If the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12 think its O.K. to play then why isn't it O.K. for everybody to play?

Regarding the budget, I would think that JD is burning up the phone lines trying to find us an FBS game. Why can VMI and Samford schedule FBS games at the last minute and we can't? Could it be some FBS teams might not want to play Furman for fear of a loss? Clemson, of course, wouldn't be one of those.

If we could get a game with Notre Dame I would do two back flips and drive the 7 hours up there to see that (after I got out of the hospital).

[gofurman]

I’m all for keeping the fall season going even if it’s SoCon only with whatever FBS schedule can be cobbled together. Heck, might be able to add a few FBS teams to total what the UT game was worth. With no playoffs there’s no penalty for losing those games.

The real issue is this: if FCS pushes for a Spring season what happens to schools that play a Fall season? Are they eligible for the Spring season? Are teams allowed to practice all the way up to the Spring? If we don’t have any 2020-21 season do players get that year back? What about transfers? The NCAA has really dropped the ball by providing zero guidance or even implications of the conferences’ decisions. There are strict guidelines in any normal season about how many spring and summer practices you are allowed. You have limits on how long practices can be throughout the year. There’s a list of banned substances for players. But now there’s suddenly nothing. Just do what you want. There’s going to be a huge issue of that remains. What if Furman plays the games they can in the Fall and participate in the Spring season. Is that an unfair advantage bc there was more time spent practicing? Would if players are taking medicine related to COVID treatment and prevention but that ends up as a banned substance?

There’s just too many questions and not enough leadership. It’s why we have the NCAA and they’ve just kicked the can and shrugged their shoulders.

FUPaladin08, these are great questions. I don’t think we will see fall FCS football but what if we did in the SoCon. ? And then a few conferences played In the spring- are we ineligible for that season when we had an unknown ??

[gofurman]

If we decide to play there may be some benefits.
- There may be some gaps in TV schedules that need to be filled with something. Remember when ESPN showed nothing but Australian Rules Football? If somebody thinks outside the box the SoCon might get some TV games that make real money.

-HS players in some sections of the country have got to be wondering how committed their local colleges are to football. If they see FU playing a late afternoon or night game to fill in the tv spot once filled by PAC 12, bingo, instant recruiting.

-What do the canceled teams say to recruits? “We might play in the spring and maybe next fall, depending on something or other, but we really might possibly want you.”

-If the fall teams set up a championship game, and then a spring season has another champion, the champion teams and coaches should be ordered to engage in extreme Twitter trash talk all summer leading up to a season opener televised Covid Bowl between the two.

But I really doubt there will be much of a spring season. The west coast teams will keep the Big Sky out and the Illinois types will keep the MV out. Will northeastern teams will ever play again? There will always be a chance of a second wave and experts now say even a good vaccine may not work very well in our country because vaccines don’t generally work on the tubby. So what criteria will they use to determine that it’s safe to play?

Another good list of points. If possible I say play in the fall. Spring is not guaranteed / though I don’t think fall wil happen w all the news lately

That said, seems we could hit the trail hard w all these FBS openings and get a money game... maybe, just maybe, that makes a season possible? One advantage to having a season is the lack of confusion between seniors taking an extra year and incoming freshman recruits ! That’s a wacky scenario that could really affect a lot of programs. If you don’t play this year someone has to take a hit @ senior has to leave or Incoming freshman goes elsewhere. Just playing a season puts us ahead of teams that don’t play as it keeps the recruiting cycle simpler. Though yes, some seniors would still probably hold out for 2021 it’s still simpler than missing an entire yera

[Roundball]

Charleston Southern practice yesterday cancelled because of players' concerns about virus. See below article from this AM's "Charleston Post and Courier".

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/c ... afffc.html

Now it’s not about positive tests but concern from players. The media has done a tremendous job of scaring the s••• out of people, Every case is a death sentence if you listen to the media. Why are people driving around alone in their car with a mask on? The fear is out of control. If they tested thousands of people a day for every known disease and the media reported everything no one would leave their house. The world had never been a safe place but now everyone had to have no risk for anything to happen. If I were a healthy college athlete I would not give this virus one thought. Just another example of fear mongering by the media and the power it has. I knew this was going to be bad when all this started but it has reached levels beyond expectations.

Enough with blaming this on the media. They simply report the facts. It's a real virus with real consequences. Besides, we need to fear this virus. It's people like you that don't take the virus serious that keep it going. This virus has killed over 160,000 people, with thousands more to die. If Americans continue to listen to the conspiracy theories, we are still be talking about this in August of next year. I hope the media spreads fear. Somebody needs to. Let's both understand that what we think about the spreading of the virus, masks, social distancing, etc., means nothing. Bottom line, this fall football season is in peril, as is basketball. The virus is with us and is not going away anytime soon. I pray for the leaders that are having to make difficult decisions.

RB, I respect your opinion on most things and I agree this virus is serious, but if you think the media simply reports the facts then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell you. This whole thing has been blown so far out of proportion it is almost funny. If the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12 think its O.K. to play then why isn't it O.K. for everybody to play?

Regarding the budget, I would think that JD is burning up the phone lines trying to find us an FBS game. Why can VMI and Samford schedule FBS games at the last minute and we can't? Could it be some FBS teams might not want to play Furman for fear of a loss? Clemson, of course, wouldn't be one of those.

If we could get a game with Notre Dame I would do two back flips and drive the 7 hours up there to see that (after I got out of the hospital).

Let’s agree to disagree on the media. The SoCon games were already on the ACC teams schedules. It was not last minute. Both Samford and VMI announced their schedules back in January. Did anyone else catch Clay’s interview on WYFF? After listening to his comments, I am not hopeful at all for fall football. He was frustrated with the NCAA’s protocol on testing, saying they made it impossible for teams to play. Put a fork in fall football. It’s done.

[Furmanoid]

With test turnaround times being reported for the general public, it would be impossible. So you have to work a deal to get priority results. It’s generally a box you check on a chain of custody. It will cost more. There is a way to do it because the SEC is going to test 3 times a week (instead of once as suggested by NCAA). At least two different companies have developed simple saliva tests that are cheap and take less than an hour. Those are being validated now. I’m sure there will be a major effort to undermine those methods by competitors and by virus rooters, but they could be available for the season.

It could be only a few rich conferences and the NFL will be able to afford testing. And of course HS just isn’t going to worry about it.

[The Jackal]

Regarding the BIG10, they are not allowing their players to practice in anything other than helmets "until further notice." https://www.mlive.com/sports/2020/08/bi ... pardy.html

The BIG10's conference schedule is set to kick off September 5, which is now less than a month away and there's no official start time for teams to actually put on football pads. Notably, two Big 10 teams have already had to shut down their preseason work to quarantine due to outbreaks of COVID on their team.

A quote from the MAC commissioner:

“We are charting a conservative path, and it is one that has been recommended by our medical advisory group,” MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said on Saturday. “There are simply too many unknowns to put our student-athletes in situations that are not clearly understood.”

https://www.mlive.com/sports/2020/08/wh ... lance.html

[FUBeAR]

Charleston Southern practice yesterday cancelled because of players' concerns about virus. See below article from this AM's "Charleston Post and Courier".

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/c ... afffc.html

Now it’s not about positive tests but concern from players. The media has done a tremendous job of scaring the s••• out of people, Every case is a death sentence if you listen to the media. Why are people driving around alone in their car with a mask on? The fear is out of control. If they tested thousands of people a day for every known disease and the media reported everything no one would leave their house. The world had never been a safe place but now everyone had to have no risk for anything to happen. If I were a healthy college athlete I would not give this virus one thought. Just another example of fear mongering by the media and the power it has. I knew this was going to be bad when all this started but it has reached levels beyond expectations.

Enough with blaming this on the media. They simply report the facts. It's a real virus with real consequences. Besides, we need to fear this virus. It's people like you that don't take the virus serious that keep it going. This virus has killed over 160,000 people, with thousands more to die. If Americans continue to listen to the conspiracy theories, we are still be talking about this in August of next year. I hope the media spreads fear. Somebody needs to. Let's both understand that what we think about the spreading of the virus, masks, social distancing, etc., means nothing. Bottom line, this fall football season is in peril, as is basketball. The virus is with us and is not going away anytime soon. I pray for the leaders that are having to make difficult decisions.

RB, I respect your opinion on most things and I agree this virus is serious, but if you think the media simply reports the facts then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell you. This whole thing has been blown so far out of proportion it is almost funny. If the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12 think its O.K. to play then why isn't it O.K. for everybody to play?

Regarding the budget, I would think that JD is burning up the phone lines trying to find us an FBS game. Why can VMI and Samford schedule FBS games at the last minute and we can't? Could it be some FBS teams might not want to play Furman for fear of a loss? Clemson, of course, wouldn't be one of those.

If we could get a game with Notre Dame I would do two back flips and drive the 7 hours up there to see that (after I got out of the hospital).

Let’s agree to disagree on the media. The SoCon games were already on the ACC teams schedules. It was not last minute. Both Samford and VMI announced their schedules back in January. Did anyone else catch Clay’s interview on WYFF? After listening to his comments, I am not hopeful at all for fall football. He was frustrated with the NCAA’s protocol on testing, saying they made it impossible for teams to play. Put a fork in fall football. It’s done.

On the media - there are some facts reported if you read/listen very closely & work very hard to sift out the obvious bias of whatever source (includes all media; not just CNN, Fox, MSNBC, OAN...ALL of ‘em) is providing the fact nuggets contained within their Agenda Feast. So you’re both right and both wrong.

On to Football.

If Mercer can pick up a money game or 3, I think the Bears play this Fall. Mercer has their own on-campus Covid testing/analysis capabilities https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/06/03/me ... esting-lab, so I would imagine the cost of testing is greatly reduced & somewhat / totally absorbed by the Mercer Medical School with highly expedited results.

Kind of a game-changer in getting over the economic barriers to play that the NCAA has erected.

We’ll see...

[Furmanoid]

If we fudge a little bit on the NCAA protocols, does that mean we can’t go to the playoffs?

[The Jackal]

From my view, all of this is just delaying the inevitable. There isn't going to be college football this fall.

No conference wants to make the emotional and difficult financial decision to call off college football. What you are seeing now is a bunch of delay tactics in hopes of some miraculous turnaround that isn't coming.

Every school administrator knows that this virus is going to spread like wildfire on campuses this fall. The idea that schools can keep this isolated and contained in a college population is a pipe dream.

There is also growing evidence that even young and healthy individuals are developing concerning heart conditions in the aftermath of the virus.

I realize the players want to play and the coaches want to coach. I probably would too in their position. But you have to take the decision away from those most emotionally invested in the outcome.

[Furmanoid]

So to be clear, you’re saying they need to cancel school. At least that’s consistent, but for parents of college kids it drastically increases risk and assures a crappy education for our kids.

[The Jackal]

So to be clear, you’re saying they need to cancel school. At least that’s consistent, but for parents of college kids it drastically increases risk and assures a crappy education for our kids.

That is not what I am saying.

First, I do not think anyone is going to "cancel school." In fact, I do not believe that colleges and universities can afford to do that. Furman has already admitted it is expecting a budgetary shortfall this fall as students stay away https://news.furman.edu/2020/05/18/furm ... -lacrosse/

A number of other universities, including Princeton and Johns Hopkins, have already opted to go virtual for the fall semester. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ed ... story.html

Football is a different gig, though. It is an extra curricular activity. It's an activity we all enjoy, but it's an activity.

Besides, I'm not advocating for the University to make a decision one way or another. I am explaining what, in my opinion, is going to happen.

I will just have some more free time on Saturdays. I hate that it's come to this, but it is where we are.

[FUBeAR]

Hmmmm

[The Jackal]

Hmmmm

Also not college football's job to bail out JMU's scheduling problem.

[purplehorse]

I think the dominoes start falling in a big way tomorrow. Despite the fact that I think there is fear monger ing here and looking at worse case scenarios I think logistically trying to pull off this off -playing football this year-would be a nightmare.

If we lived the rest of our lives based on this type of fear, no one would ever go to a hospital, have surgery, drive a car etc. I mean there are risks with about anything in life.

I think the dominoes will start fall fast and furiously.